Antwerp School attr. to Izaak van Oosten (1613 – 1661)

Oil on partly parquet oak panel.
Van Oosten’s main pictorial codes of painting feature in our composition: against an undulating landscape travellers pass each other on a path demarcated by groups of trees. There is a river meanders towards the background. Aquatic elements are frequent in Van Oosten’s paintings. In the background to the right, a character is moving away, inviting our gaze to a horizon planted with trees.
The gentle and consistent light that embraces the scene provides a peaceful atmosphere.
The hallmark of the Antwerp Guild (hands) and the town of Anvers (castle) are stamped on the back of the panel.

Dimensions: 19 x 24 1/2 in. – 23 2/3 x 29 1/3 in. with frame
The molded blackened wood and gilt frame brings out the painting beautifully.

Izaak (or Isaac) van Oosten (Antwerp 10.12.1613 – ID. 12.1661) painted landscapes and cabinet panels. We have little information to add to his biography; there is no trace of his training and we do not know the names of his apprentice masters. Van Oosten only appeared in the registers of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1652.
His compositions bear the characteristics of the Antwerp School of the first half of the 17th century. The influence of other Antwerp ‘landscapists’ such as Jan Brueghel the Elder, Lucas van Uden and Alexander Keirincx is apparent in his work. His landscapes are simple with open spaces featuring water or a river. There is often a path running through them around which the activity revolves.

Works by Izaak van Oosten can be admired in the collections of the largest museums: the Prado in Madrid, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, as well as the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rennes.